It’s always dangerous to compare eras.
There are always differences in environment, finances, landscape and many other factors that need to be considered.
EVERYTHING seemed bigger ‘back then’.
It’s hard to argue though, with the upswing in the standard of competition since the formation of the NDRC, that 2026 may well be one of the most significant years in Top Doorslammer history.
And this is said without any disrespect to the years and the teams in years gone by.
Add it all up and with the widespread discussion about teams planning on ‘hitting the road’ in 2026 might make this truly ‘the year of the Slammer’.
Let’s look at the results from 2025 and the ‘word on the street’ as to who’s coming out Slamming next year.
The Top Ten in this year’s Championship were:
Russell Taylor (1st)
John Zappia (2nd)
Lisa Gregorini (3rd)
Brodie Zappia (4th)
Matt Abel (5th)
Daniel Gregorini (6th)
Ronnie Palumbo (7th)
Peter Kapiris (8th)
Jeremy Callaghan (9th)
Steven Aldridge (10th)
Current back-to-back Australian Champion Russell Taylor proved yet again that he’s virtually unstoppable in the Royal Precision Lubricants SS when he’s set to thrill.
Russell wrapped up his second consecutive National title with a round to spare at the Winters (he didn’t need to compete in Darwin) and generally the only person thing that could beat him was his own mind – it’s well documented Russell often blames himself for any shortcoming on the quarter mile.
Is it possible Taylor will make it a hat trick in 2026?
Absolutely.
Or as Russell says “it is what it is.”
John Zappia managed to claw his way back into the top two spots of the title chase with a gritty second place finish in the Championship and it goes without saying that Zap will be even more fired up to win his twelfth national championship – and not finish runner up to Taylor for two years running.
Now back to a single car team Zap’s Fuchs Lubricants / Summit Racing Equipment Monaro will have a singular focus on victory this season and with that stout 5.59 in his pocket he knows he still has speed.
And he’s always hungry.
Lisa Gregorini finished safely inside the top four in the Championship for her second straight season in only her second season knocking off several PB ET’s – this time with her maiden win at The Bend at last year’s Spring Nationals in the Scratch and Match Camaro.
Gregorini has a consistency that is remarkable considering her very brief career to date and the sting of missing out on the runner up spot behind Taylor and Zappia in 2025 will be her motivation.
Brodie Zappia, like fellow rookies the year before in Taylor, Gregorini and Palumbo, made a huge impression and even won the Westernationals on debut in the Max Plant Monaro raising eyebrows and expectations for what he can achieve in the tyre tracks of his famous Uncle John and street cred laden Dad Richard.
Now, swapping over to the AC Delco Monaro with Maurice and Mary Fabietti for 2026 and with an entirely different landscape the potential for a spectacular year is certainly on the cards for the whiz kid from the West.
Darwin’s Matt Abel certainly showed more potential in the black 57’ in 2025 and with sidekick kid and drag passionate son Aiden on board getting ever closer with the second car the Abels are deeper into the game than they ever have been.
Matt was creeping up on some real consistency as the season wore on and his fifth-place finish in the Championship was a legitimate reward for his perseverance and commitment to the cause.
Daniel Gregorini will openly admit that running a two-car operation has not been easy.
Since bringing wife Lisa into the fold Daniel’s been stretched to the max resource wise to fund and transport their two Camaros and whilst Lisa’s team is a 100% all female it does require Daniel’s input in a number of facets that have made focusing on his own program more difficult.
Having been able to travel back and forth between rounds to Perth rather than staying out on the road may well be a thing of the past for the Scratch and Match team so Daniel will need to – like many of his West Aussie rivals readjust the prep and maintenance program whilst on the East Coast.
Daniel proved at The Bend he can run into the very low 5.60’s and 2026 will see a renewed emphasis on consistency and reliability.
What will Ronnie Palumbo do?
Rumours suggest that there is a ride on the horizon for the talented Sydneysider but nothing that has been set in concrete as the young gun enjoys some time and hopefully some opportunities in the USA at the moment.
Currently there are no 100% plans for the man who placed seventh in 2025 but one might suggest there are opportunities somewhere as it has been rumoured.
Evergreen Victorian legend Peter Kapiris will bring the stunning Saratoga out again in 2026 for however many rounds possible buoyed by some late season speed that saw the iconic big beaming smile back to his face after what was a year marred by personal injury (stay away from dirt bikes Pete) and some issues getting off the line.
With his pair of mates ‘The JC’s” on the tune Kapiris has shown that he can run deep into the 5 second bracket and knows he’ll need to do that consistently to have a showing in 2026 whenever we see him run.
Canberra’s Jeremy Callaghan proved that anything is in fact possible in Top Doorslammer.
His remarkable turn around from ‘on the roof’ in WA to ‘on the top of the box’ in SA saw him score his first ever Slammer Gold Christmas Tree at The Bend in the stunning Moits 70.5 and show that the steely-blue eyed gasser is not intimidated at all by the challenge he’s taken on to morph from a car originally built as a Slammer then to Pro Mod and now back to screw blower thanks to the ‘light encouragement’ from Pete Lovering.
Callaghan will be a threat.
West Aussie Steven Aldridge impressed a lot of people when the NDRC visited the Perth Motorplex and his ability to run with the big dogs on home turf will hopefully give he and several other Sandgropers the conviction to join the SA and East Coast 2026 schedule where possible without Perth on the schedule this year.
Hope you can come out a bit with us Steve.
Heading out on the road in 2026 in addition to Taylor, Zap, the Gregorinis, BZap, Abel, Callaghan and Kapiris from this year’s top ten are likely to be:
The current World ET champion in Pro Mod John Ricca.
Ricca has paid his membership and eagerly discussed his desire to make the necessary alterations to his wild Tuff Streeters / Race Parts Melbourne Camaro recently at Dragway at the Bend during the Spring Nationals where he ran an Australian record 5.40 in Outlaw Pro Mod trim.
The Victorian has vivid memories as a kid at Calder Park watching Zap and Peter Kapiris from that mega era and he’s amped to join the Slammer ranks.
Nasser Matta has a much longer association with Drag Racing than many people understand.
The passionate Lebanese Leadfoot is planning to have at least two A-Civil Doorslammers at the lights in early 2026 with son George making it three cars midway through the year.
The A-Civil Super Team has been showing some good speed between Nasser and Salim with Nasser picking up the runner-up spot in the PDRC Pro Mod Championship but the investment from the team will be enormous in 2026 including perhaps a soft serve ice-cream van tow vehicle.
For real.
He’s even prepared to step aside if wife Melissa wanted to race!
Sydney Shoebox devotee Pete Lovering was starting to show some real potential in the newly lightened body late this season and now that he’s successfully lowered his PB to below son Cruz’s and the team seem to have homed in on the sweet spot it’s a case of ‘shut up and take my money’ if they get half a chance.
They’ll be quicker than a KFC drive through window at 0900am.
In recent rounds we’ve seen Lovering in SA, NSW and QLD and present a realistic chance of an upset win – a trend that is likely to continue in 2026.
Fellow Sydneysider Emilio Spinozzi really got a handle on the Terra Civil SS Chevelle in Sydney and was a weapon briefly at the Winternationals showing that it’s not just the coffee that’s hot in the trailer when they get locked into a good tune.
Spinozzi presents a fantastic looking hot rod and will be a welcome addition to more rounds across 2026 when he and the family team hit the road when time and work commitments allow.
The Davies family have invested their hearts and souls into Drag and Slammer racing in particular and once son Brodie gets his licensing sorted another Aussie drag racing dynasty will continue has he pilots the stunning Pennywise 67’ Mustang formerly campaigned by his proud Mum Michelle that has a PB of 5.75.
It’s possible that the trick looking Mustang will run all rounds.
Sunshine Coaster Jack Danaher turns heads everywhere in his stunning Corvette and in 2025 he ripped into the 5’s for his first time with a solid performance at the Nitro Champs that certainly signalled his desire to run more often with the big dogs of Slammer.
The Striptease 57’ Vette is being prepped and readied for a bigger schedule than ever before adding another 5-second deam car to the line-up.
West Aussie Shane Catalano showed considerable riz in the sweet Mopar during the Westernationals in particular and the word is out that the super fast Sicilian is considering a few trips East to log some highway miles and race quarter miles wherever time and a budget allows.
Catalano’s hot rod attracts plenty of attention crowd wise and he’s certainly capable of an upset.
“Mr Versatile” Geoff Gradden is hectic fast on two wheels or four.
Graddo has demonstrated his ability to run stout numbers and punish the opposite lane with consistency and spicy ET’s and with plans to run at least three to four rounds this wise man will look to take down many fancied runners given half the chance.
So when you look through it all based just on the cars mentioned here it’s possible that each round will feature between 15-20 cars.
That’s the biggest predicted entry list for any Group One category in 2026 with the NDRC.
And it’s something that everyone in TD is very excited about.
There’s currently work going on in the background for an innovative and fresh new marketing strategy for Slammer teams and the Championship.
Sponsorship and Marketing partners are welcome for the teams and for the Championship itself in what looks like being a breakout year for Top Doorslammer when the season kicks off next year…
